Free Executive Power by Vince Flynn Page A

of President Eisenhower out of her way, the president’s chief of staff plopped her files down on the corner of his desk. Neither Rapp nor General Flood made an effort to get her a chair. In the P.C. world of D.C. politics both knew such a gesture could be misperceived, and they might get their balls chewed off. And besides, neither of them liked Jones enough to make the effort.
    When the chief of staff was settled, the president looked at Kennedy and said, “Let’s hear it.”
    The ever placid Kennedy cocked her head slightly and brushed a strand of her shoulder-length brown hair behind her ear. As had been the case all too often lately, she was the bearer of bad news. “Mr. President, General Flood informs me that you’ve been fully briefed on the failed hostage rescue in the Philippines.”
    â€œYes,” answered the president in a sour tone, “and needless to say I’m not happy about it.”
    â€œI’d like to remind everyone,” interrupted the president’s chief of staff, “that I thought that entire operation was a bad idea from the start.”
    Ignoring Jones, Kennedy held up one of the two red folders and said, “I think I can shed some light on what went wrong, sir.”
    Hayes, his curiosity piqued, placed his forearms squarely on the desk and said, “I’m all ears.”
    â€œIn this file”—Kennedy held up her left hand—“I have a list of e-mail and telephone transcripts. You will remember that before launching the rescue operation we decided that for reasons of operational security our embassy in the Philippines would not be notified until the teams and the hostages were safely extracted.”
    Jones had just finished taking a sip of coffee and began to shake her head vigorously. “Again, I’m on the record as saying that was a bad idea. We’re going to be smarting over that one for some time. This thing is a real mess. The press is getting more curious by the hour. The press office has already received three calls this morning, the Philippine government is demanding answers and our own State Department is furious.”
    The president also chose to ignore Jones for the moment and stayed focused on Kennedy, saying, “I remember the issue was hotly contested.”
    Without looking up, General Flood grumbled, “And you made it very clear, sir, that our embassy was not to be notified.”
    The president was caught a little off guard by the general’s tone. The soldier was in an unusually foul mood, which was very out of character.
    â€œSir,” said Kennedy as she opened the file and handed the president the first page. “This is the transcript of an e-mail that was sent by Assistant Secretary of State Amanda Petry to Ambassador Cox. In it she clearly states the time and date the operation was to commence.” Kennedy gave the president a second to look over the text and then handed him another piece of paper. “This is Ambassador Cox’s reply asking for more specifics, and this is Amanda Petry’s reply that outlines the rescue operation in detail.” Kennedy handed him the third sheet.
    The president looked over the documents in silence, and a frown slowly darkened his expression as each word hinted at what may have happened, and the twisted dark road where this might take him.
    Patience not being one of her virtues, Jones got up from her chair and stood over the president’s shoulder. She began scanning the documents and trying to make sense of what Kennedy was up to.
    Pulling his reading glasses down to the tip of his nose Hayes looked at the director of the CIA and said, “This is serious stuff.”
    Before she could answer Jones said, “The State Department is going to be livid about this. Beatrice Berg is a living legend … are you out of your mind?” Jones was referring to the recently confirmed secretary of state, who was quite possibly the most